Getting the most out of greenhouse

[TattyJJ]

Hi
Just starting out on the whole vegetable growing thing...
Well, i've had small veg patches before, but never really taken it seriously. Just a few spuds etc
Anyway, seeing as i am moving house at the end of the month and will have a south facing garden (that someone in all their wisdom has entirely paved over) decided I'm going to actually have a proper go at growing some bit's this year. My window sills are currently covered in seedlings.
Going to stick to growing things that are easy(ish) and i use lots of normally.

Going to invest in an 8x6 greenhouse, seems to be several being given away on gumtree! And get some staging to go along one side and maybe the back.
I'm wanting to grow tomatoes, have gone with gardeners delight. Also, cucumbers chillies peppers and a bunch of herbs. There will be more, but they will be outside in pots and not worrying about them at the mo.

I'm wondering how best i can lay out the greenhouse so i can really cram in the most?
Obviously all round the edges, but i'm not sure how much space everything will need.
Could i perhaps get away with tomatoes down both sides with staging down the middle and along back?
i get the paths are going to be pretty narrow, but so long as i can get down them, right?

Also any other pointers are more than welcome

Cheers all

Jon

[veggiechicken]

Hello Jon and welcome to the Grapevine!!
My Greenhouses are on paving so that's not going to be a problem. Scrounge the biggest GH that you can - its amazing what's offered on Gumtree and Freecycle/Freegle. A 6' wide GH gives you a 2' wide bed on both sides and across the far end. Its not practical to put anything down the centre because of access. An 8' wide one gives you more scope.
Have a look at these threads for ideas
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...oor_59779.html
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...dar_87865.html

[Bigmallly]

Hello Tatty & welcome to the Jungle, If you are definitely wanting staging, I would be tempted to put it along the back & have 2 beds down the sides with a path in between. Gardeners Delight can be grown outside so if you wished you could grow a more tender variety in the GH. Maybe put up a wire down the middle of the roof for a couple of hanging baskets, just watch you don't bang your head............

[TattyJJ]

Cheers guys

Theres some good ideas on those threads, looking at others does seem like 3 rows just won't fit in a 6x8. If i can get an 8' wide one i will, but the garden won't take any bigger. The garden is all paved, but it's kinda small and on 2 levels so the space is a bit weird and hard to work with.
I found somewhere local that sells organic compost super cheep too, half the price of homebase and the like! Was going to use grow bags, but seems pots are in order now.

I want staging along at least one length, then i can lift up the peppers and chillies as they tend to be stumpier? Then underneath for storage, or if it gets the light more growing space....
I did read gardeners delight can grow outside, but do they fair as well with as good crop? Also i read that tomatoes grown outside tend to have a tougher skin? I guess can get a couple of those cheep plastic mini greenhouse things and pop them in those.

Any suggestions for a good tomato variety for the greenhouse then if i go that route? Something bigger than a cherry tomato and tender does sound nice!
Really liking the idea of the hanging baskets too, that's a great way to make use of otherwise void space! Suggestions for a variety for those would be good too
I'll have to be quick though, getting a little late to sew the seeds?

Jon

[Tripmeup]

Hello and welcome..

You will get a million and one suggestions RE nice tomatoes as it is down to personal tastes in many ways...So let me go first Black Russian, Paul Robeson and Black Cherry are worth trying..You could put some cherry tomatoes in the hanging baskets, maybe tumbler or similar...

But most of all, enjoy it and learn for next year

[Bigmallly]

A good cropper IMO is Black Icicle, for baskets maybe Tumbler, Sungold or Rambling Red Stripe.

[muddled]

How do you like your tomatoes?
here is how I choose which ones to grow;

Me, I like them to be quite 'tart'. Not sour exactly but with a strong, tomatoey taste.
And I can't stand them to be too soft and spongy inside....I like them to slice well and look good in salads.

So I go for the darker colours which tend to be more acidic. Black in the name is a good clue...Black cherry, black Russian, Black krim. I have often found white and pale yellows to be considerably sweeter but sweet is not what I like.

Then I choose sizes.
Cherry toms ripen soonest. The big beefsteaks take longer. So I grow at least one variety of each with a medium sized in between to get the longest cropping time.

Finally, I consider bragging rights!
Yes. I really am that shallow!
So even though I'm not that keen on them I will grow a white one, an orange and a yellow one because nothing...NOTHING...says 'I'm a fantastic gardener/mother/wife/human being' like a homegrown, rainbow coloured tomato salad dressed with three different types of homegrown basil, presented at the mother in law's barbecue

[veggiechicken]

Back to GH layout!!
This is my 10x6 so just one pane of glass longer than you're thinking of getting.



The south is the right side, so on the left there is a shelf on which I grow tomatoes in growbags - 4 bags with 2 plants in each, usually Rambling Red Stripe or one of the Tumblers.
I have staging on both sides with removable tops. In winter, the tops on the left are usually in place and have seedlings and overwintering plants. In summer, I remove the tops and plant tomatoes and cucumbers in pots below, and use the staging as supports. The beds are only about 4" deep, on concrete, but I can grow lots of salad leaves. There are cabbages, onions and peas in there too at the moment.
There's a peach tree in a pot at the far end.
Thought this might give you an idea of what you could do.

[TattyJJ]

Thanks all, this is all good stuff

The only reasons I went for the gardeners delight was of how easy they are to grow, and wiko had small packs of seeds with a pot and some compost for 50p
But the best option does seem to put them outside or in mini greenhouses.

In terms of flavour, will mostly be for cooking with, things like passata and sauces etc. So a strong tomato flavior will deffo be good.

How many could I expect to fit along the length, bearing in mind I'll have staging at the back. Won't be very deep though, about 30cm. Just going to use that cheepy push together stuff the mini greenhouses use.
I know it's flimsy and won't last, but it's also really cheep....

[bramble]

I have the same staging in my greenhouse on one side. Never thought to remove it in summer.

[Bigmallly]

How many could I expect to fit along the length, bearing in mind I'll have staging at the back. Won't be very deep though, about 30cm.

I usually grow my cordons at 1 foot spacings, bush varieties may need 2-3 foot. The best advice I can give regarding the soil depth is to use ring cultures, basically a flower bucket with the bottom cut off. Place the ring culture on the compost, fill it & plant your tom into that, giving you a further 12" depth.

[MarkPelican]

Your greenhouse will have multiple uses, e.g. seedlings early in the year, tomatoes, peppers and cucmbers through the summer and lettuces and herbs in the winter. Make it easy to move from one to the other by having staging that you can grow through without having to dismantle and growing in pots rather than growbags so you can move things around if you need to. I use flower buckets for tomatoes and peppers, they take about 1/2 a growbag and are robust enough to last a few seasons. Some of the supermarkets sell them off at about £1.00 for 8.

However, don't pack too much in the plants will shade each other and you'll have problems caused by lack of air flow.

[gringo]

Thanks all, this is all good stuff

The only reasons I went for the gardeners delight was of how easy they are to grow, and wiko had small packs of seeds with a pot and some compost for 50p
But the best option does seem to put them outside or in mini greenhouses.

In terms of flavour, will mostly be for cooking with, things like passata and sauces etc. So a strong tomato flavior will deffo be good.

How many could I expect to fit along the length, bearing in mind I'll have staging at the back. Won't be very deep though, about 30cm. Just going to use that cheepy push together stuff the mini greenhouses use.
I know it's flimsy and won't last, but it's also really cheep....

I've grown gardener's delight for a few years and find they are too sweet to cook with. I DO cook with them, but only in combination with tomatillos, which have a very tart taste. They balance each other beautifully.

Can't help you with the grenhouse I'm afraid as I don't have one. I used to hanker after one but now find the versatility of my Wilko's plastic-covered shelves ('mini greenhouses') to be preferable.

[TattyJJ]

I'm thinking maybe Italian Roma for the greenhouse, anyone have experience with these?

[Bigmallly]

Roma I believe are a bush variety so would need more room than a cordon.